Card-holder



(No Model.)

A. MCKENZIE 82; A. R. GIBSON.

CARD HOLDER.

No. 415,393. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

IVl/NbSSLS. M1 INVEN/ 0R5 91;} W a f5 6? WQMW' g ATTORNEY'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANGUS MCKENZIE AND ADELBERT R. GIBSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CARD-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,393, dated. November 19, 1889.

Application filed July 22, 1889. Serial No. 318,207. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ANGUS MCKENZIE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and ADELBERT R. GIBSON, a citizen of the United States, both residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Card-Holders; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to card-holders for railway-cars; and the object of the invention is to provide a holder for destination, junction, yard, and other cards used on freight and express cars, which is simple in construction, cheap as an article of manufacture, and effective and reliable in use.

To this end the invention consists in a holder constructed of sheet metal and provided with a spring-pressed bearing to rest upon the card, all as shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved cardholder with a card in position thereon. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation on line as a Fig. 1.

This holder consists of only two parts-a plate A and a spring-arm B. The plate A is formed with an overhanging roof or hood a, bent back very nearly upon the body of the plate for a short distance, as seen at b, to provide a support for the card along its upper edge, and thence outward from the plate at more or less of an angle-say forty-five degrees or thereaboutto aiford protection to the card from rain, snow, and ice. In the lower central portion of the plate is a pair of brads c, of shape, a quarter of an inch or so in length, which are struck up out of the plate A and are designed to penetrate the card 0, and with the spring-arm B and the overhanging portion 1) hold the card firmly in position. At the respective corners the plate has holes for screws (Z, by which it is fastened to the car-body or to a suitable support to be attached to the car.

The arm B is formed with a coil-spring e, of one or more turns, which comes at the upper edge of the plate above the hood, and the opposite end fof the arm is projected beneath the plate and soldered or otherwise secured thereto. The active end of arm -B is formed into a loop g, which bears against the card 0 between the brads c, and the force exerted by the arm against the card by reason of the strength of its spring is such that a card cannot possibly get loose or work off in the ordinary wear and usage to which it is subjected, however long the distance traveled.

The hood a serves to prevent rain or moisture of any kind dropping in between the card and the plate and the consequent freezing of the two together, as is liable to occur if no hood or like protection is afforded.

If there be danger of the user lifting the arm B too high, a staple may be driven in astride the arm just above the plate, to limit the movement; or any other suitable stop can be employed.

It will be observed that by the use of a single spring-arm to bear upon the card practically no obstruction whatever is offered to a clear view of the printing or inscription on the cards, which is an exceptional feature and advantage in this holder and distinguishes it from other holders of this class generally, which employ two or more crosswires with intermediate connections. Such wires are apt to form lodgment for snow and ice, especially if they rest upon the card, and always obscure the lettering to a degree that is objectionable.

Another novel feature is the metal plate with its outwardly projecting brads. In other holders the brads extend inwardly from the spring-holders to which they are secured, and usually holes are made in the side of the car or the holder-support for the brads as they project through the card. Here the brads project outward and the card is pressed down over them when it is placed in position.

Usually holders will be made in sizes for different sizes of cards; but a small card can be secured on a large holder and a large card on a small holder, if necessary.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a card-holder, a plate having a forwardly-proj ectin g portion constructed to hold the card at its edge, brads to engage the card, and a spring-pressed arm to bear against the card and hold it on the plate, substantially as described.

2. In a card-holder, a plate having a hood along its upper edge lapping the plate part Way to engage the upper edge of the card, and an arm provided with a spring to hold the card on the plate, substantially as described.

3. In acard-holder, a flat plate having its upper portion bent to form a hood and a holder for the upper portion of the card, said plate having brads on its surface, in combination With a spring-pressed bearing-arm extending over said hood, substantially as described.

4. In a card-holder, a plate providedwith a hood along its upper edge, and a single spring-pressed arm extending centrally over said plate and provided with a bent end which bears against the card, substantially as described.

5. A card-holderhaving ahood constructed to shelter the card and overlap its upper edge, whereby said card is held against the plate at said edge, brads projecting from the face of the card, and acentrally-arranged spring-pressed bearing-arm projecting over the hood, substantially as described.

In testilnonywhereof We hereunto set our hands this 16th day of J uly; 1889.

ANGUS MCKENZIE.

- ADELBERT R. GIBSON.

Witnesses: 7

H. T. FISHER, I. T. COREY. 

